Welcome back to everyone!

We've had a very settled and happy first week of school here with our new staff and students all finding their feet quickly and everyone enjoying the new playground improvements.

A settled start is what we all needed after a rather unsettling Christmas holiday break for the ACT and NSW. A number of staff and families have been impacted by the smoke, fires and hail. Other community members are undergoing challenging times with very sick family members. During these times we are thankful for the communities, such as St John the Apostle, that where we belong and the support we can find there. A settled start doesn't just happen and I want to thank the excellent staff team for the many hours spent in preparing for the year ahead.

Welcome

Welcome to all of our new students and families across the school. Thank you for

choosing St John the Apostle to be part of your family story. We look forward to helping your child to grow and learn and become the best they can be.

We also welcome a number of new staff to our team here:

• Charlie McIver (1 Maroon Teacher)
• Ruth Blackwell (2 Maroon Teacher)
• Ashleigh van Kemenade (Year 3 Maroon Teacher)
• Scott Suitor (Year 6 Blue Teacher & School Coordinator)
• Sean O'Neill (Inclusion Assistant)
• Ben Fely (Inclusion Assistant)
• Laurie Fraser (Inclusion Assistant)
• Rheannan Vergano (Inclusion Assistant)

We look forward to their contributions to our school community.

Air Quality Management in School

Using information from the Education Directorate, Catholic Education have produced an “Air Quality and Response Guide to Schools” that provides us with support and advice for ensuring the safety and well-being of staff and students when the air quality is very poor. We undertake an assessment each day to decide the plan for the day. Similarly to last year, mitigation strategies may require restriction of students from the playground, cancelling or postponing excursions, possible rotation of students in classrooms that are less exposed to poor air quality, monitoring individual staff and student health requirements. These are some of the actions that make up the Action Plan.

Parent Information Night

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Parent Information Night this coming Thursday evening. It is a great opportunity to hear about the direction the school is heading this year, what will be happening in your child's classroom and to meet the teacher. We will be handing out a lot of information on the night and you won't want to miss it.

Swimming Carnival

Our Year 2-6 Swimming Carnival is coming up very soon! On Wednesday a note went

home that covers both permission and nomination for any races. It takes time to organise the heats for each event and we would like every child to return their note by next Wednesday 12 February. Every class that has all notes returned on that day will receive Zooper Doopers!

Well done everyone on a great first week of school! Congratulations!